David Cameron Demands His Opponent’s Resignation

The U.K.’s outgoing Prime Minister (PM) David Cameron told his opposite number to resign so the country could have a better opposition in a lively Wednesday session of Prime Minister’s Questions.

During the weekly bust up in the House Commons, Cameron told Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn he should make way for a successor so the country had an effective opposition.

“For heaven’s sake man, go,” said Cameron. The PM added that Corbyn had been lackluster in his support for the U.K.’s European Union membership in the recent referendum campaign which resulted in a 52-48 vote for Brexit.

“He said he put his back into it, I would hate to see him when he wasn’t trying,” Cameron told the chamber. At no point in recent British political history has an incumbent PM demanded the opposition leader resign so they can face a stronger opponent.

Corbyn is facing a leadership crisis after losing a vote of no confidence among his members of parliament 176-44 Tuesday. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband told the BBC Corbyn’s position is now hopeless.

“I think a lot of what he stands for is very important for us going forward. But I’ve reluctantly reached a conclusion that his position is untenable,” said Miliband. Although Corbyn has lost the confidence of Labour MPs, whether he remains leader will depend on the rank and file members out in the country.

For Corbyn to be ousted a rival candidate needs to secure the support of 50 Labour MPs and write to the Labour’s general secretary Iain McNicol announcing their intention to run. The candidate will then face Corbyn in a contest that will be decided by a vote of ordinary Labour members.

The Labour was defiant Monday, vowing to fight on:

“I was democratically elected leader of our party for a new kind of politics by 60 percent of Labour members and supporters, and I will not betray them by resigning. Today’s vote by MPs has no constitutional legitimacy.”

If Labour members vote to keep Corbyn as leader, which seems likely, the party will face its biggest crisis since it split in the 1980s.

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Cross-posted from The Daily Caller